FAITH KNOWS NO QUARANTINE People are leaving homes despite quarantine restrictions to shop or go to church, like this woman who is praying quietly before the image of the Black Nazerene at the Good Shepherd Parish Church on Regalado Avenue in Fairview, Quezon City, on Thursday. —GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE
The government will be more strict in implementing quarantine rules amid numerous violations and may impose a “total lockdown” if the number of cases of the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues to climb, officials warned on Thursday.
“The news that there will be a total lockdown is fake news. But it’s not fake news that a total lockdown is being considered, especially if violators continue to roam the streets [and] … if COVID-19 cases don’t go down,” said presidential spokesperson Harry Roque.
He did not say what a total lockdown would entail.
The enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) imposed last month on the entire island of Luzon, which accounts for the most number of COVID-19 cases in the country, was extended to the end of the month, chiefly because efforts to control the contagion had not flattened the curve.
Roque said Filipinos should comply and not give a reason for the government to extend the quarantine beyond April 30.
‘Just a week more’
“Let’s meet our obligations and there’s only a little time left of our ECQ. Just a week more, so let’s try our best. But if the curve is not flattened and COVID-19 cases are not lessened, of course, that (another extension) will be one of the options to be considered,” he said.
Roque noted that the number of cases even went up after the Holy Week.
He attributed this to reports of increased foot and vehicle traffic around the public markets in Divisoria and Blumentritt in Manila and at Balintawak in Quezon City, and on major roads like the North Luzon Expressway and South Luzon Expressway.
“In an ideal world, while we have not yet flattened the curve, the ECQ should continue,” Roque said.
The violations of the ECQ regulations by Filipinos were a disgrace and had put the Philippines at the top of countries with the most number of cases among the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), Roque said.
‘Undisciplined’ Filipinos
On Thursday, the Philippines recorded 5,660 COVID-19 cases, with 435 recoveries and 362 deaths, or a 6.3 percent case fatality rate.
Roque pointed out that citizens in countries like Singapore and Malaysia complied with their lockdown protocols and their lower case figures showed it.
“We will not deny that, because we Filipinos should be ashamed that we are only showing that we are undisciplined,” Roque said.
In Metro Manila, the Philippine National Police Highway Patrol Group (PNP-HPG) in just six hours on Wednesday accosted 71 private motorists for defying the ECQ and for not complying with social distancing rules.
From March 17 to April 15, the Joint Task Force (JTF) COVID Shield had accosted 119,061 ECQ violators nationwide.
Luzon has the most number of ECQ violators with 72,530, including 14,447 charged and 2,246 detained. Among them were 494 who were arrested for profiteering, hoarding, running online scams and proliferation of false information.
Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, JTF COVID Shield commander, said the increase in private vehicular traffic on major Metro Manila roads had caused long queues at the different ECQ control points and hampered the movement of cargo and persons authorized to leave their homes.
The presence of more people and vehicles has prompted the government to deploy police and military teams to enforce social distancing in these public areas.
Stricter enforcement
Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles, spokesperson for the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF), said Filipinos should now expect stricter enforcement of the ECQ and the travel restrictions.
He said it would be unfair to citizens who had obeyed the government’s orders for the past month if some people violated the lockdown protocols.
“Even the President noticed that there are many violators now, so we have no choice but to be more strict than ever,” he said.
“If you can help government, police your own ranks, police your own community. And tell those violators to stop it, and this will be a big help for all of us,” he added.
One way to avoid leaving your house, he said, was not being too choosy with food and satisfying your cravings with trips to big supermarkets where there were more people.
“We’d rather that you shop in your city or area if you can find the item there, rather than go outside of your city. Let’s not be picky. In case of doubt, don’t,” Nograles said.
“All of our sacrifices will be for naught because we keep on finding ways to leave our houses. ‘My favorite can only be bought in other areas,’ or ‘I’m sick of what I buy here.’ It just destroys everything,” Nograles said.
Options after April 30
Given that economic activity and earning a living must resume, Roque said the IATF was “exploring options” after April 30.
One is extending the Luzon-wide ECQ or a modified or limited community quarantine, he said.
“We are still searching for the balance between the State’s obligation to protect the health of our citizens, versus the rights of citizens to a livelihood,” he said.
Nograles said the more people violate quarantine regulations, the harder for government to make a decision on what to do next month.
With less than two weeks left until the end of the month, he said the government was appealing for the public’s cooperation to “make the decision easier.” —WITH A REPORT FROM JEANNETTE I. ANDRADE